Rue Allyn & Stephen Osborne Join #RustCity17!

19 January 2017

Every book convention must have authors. There’s no question about it and I am working hard to ensure that we not only have a ton of fun people to hang out with, but there’s a wide range of genre talent as well. I know many readers tend to stick with their preferred genres, and there’s nothing wrong with that; but you never know what you’ll find, what you’ll like, until you take a leap of faith.

With that in mind, let me introduce you to two more fabulous authors who will be taking the plunge with me and coming to Rust City 2017! Make sure you keep an eye out as more authors are announced!

Rue Allyn, the imaginary love child of an immortal Scottish knight and Margaret Mitchell, was adopted at birth by a pair of professor experts in Child Development and Education. She loved the parents who raised her and tried very hard to please them by starting school at the age of two and receiving more than 30 years of formal education, culminating in a Ph. D. that led to a number of teaching positions at various universities.

Rue’s creative impulses could not be denied. She searched long and hard in universities, in the US Navy, in retail sales and odd jobs to find release for her undeniable desire to sing out about heart melting romance. She watched old movies, read stories by Dante, Chaucer, Charlotte Bronte, Georgette Heyer, and even-unknown to Rue-her mother’s legendary Gone with the Wind. Not until she met the man of her dreams, her very own True and Perfect Knight, did she discover that while fate had stolen her singing voice, she could–in the traditions of Ovid, Homer, and the Beowulf poet–still sing her songs of heart melting romance by weaving them into stories about love, joy, and ecstasy in all ages. When not writing, loving her spouse, or attending Toastmasters meetings, Rue now travels the world and surfs the internet in search of background material and inspiration for her next heart melting romance.

Hello! I live in rural northern Illinois and have a wonderful dog named Christine, named after the heroine of The Phantom of the Opera. I love Broadway musicals, and head into Chicago at least 20 times a year to see shows. Other than writing, I like folk music, watching British TV shows like Doctor Who, and playing games with my admittedly odd group of friends. I first fell in love at the age of 9. Her name was Alexandra Moltke, and she played Victoria Winters on the soap opera Dark Shadows. Yes, I was one of those kids who ran home from school to watch Barnabas and the other spooky people on that show. I obviously never lost my love for the macabre, and it turns up often in my writing. I graduated from Purdue University and went on to manage a pizza restaurant. I also worked in bookstores for many years, and I joined an improvisational comedy troupe and did that for nearly a decade. I now work in a food packaging plant, testing the product before it goes onto the lines…so I basically bake brownies for a living. Someone has to do it. Even though I write about ghosts, zombie bulldogs, and impulsive college students, some of my real life seeps into my writing every now and then. I’m not saying which bits, but there’s a scene in a bedroom in Pop Goes the Weasel which still brings back painful memories…